By Minaz Kerawala, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
Israeli occupation forces shelled a Gaza church this morning, killing at least three people and injuring many others.
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada (DPCC) strongly condemns this attack on the iconic Holy Family parish. This atrocity is the latest of Israel’s systematic and remorselessly deadly strikes on places of worship, cultural monuments, hospitals, schools and, more recently, even its own purported aid distribution sites.
Morning of mayhem at Gaza church
At 10:10 a.m. local time, an Israeli shell exploded near the cross on the roof of Holy Family, the only Catholic church in Gaza, showering shrapnel and debris all over the compound. Hundreds of people from the territory’s Christian community, an existentially threatened minority, have been sheltering in the church premises since the war on Gaza began.
The blast is confirmed to have killed at least three people, including the church’s janitor, Saad Salameh, 60, and parishioner Fumayya Ayyad, 84. Both, Mr. Salameh, who had been in the yard near the site of the explosion, and Ms. Ayyad, who had been in a tent in the compound in which Caritas Jerusalem provides psychosocial service, were critically injured. They were transported to a nearby hospital, but because of a shortage of medical resources and transfusable blood created by Israel’s blockade, their lives could not be saved.
Numerous people were also injured, including Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest whom the late Pope Francis famously called almost daily, even from his deathbed. Fortunately, early reports indicate that Fr. Gabriel’s injuries are not serious. Others, however, have not been so lucky.
DPCC joins Pope Leo XIV in commending “the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God.” We extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.
Christians targeted not just in Gaza
Israel’s murderous campaign has not been limited to Gaza, where it has killed over 58,500 and injured over 139,600 Palestinians, according to the latest snapshot. Just since January 2024, Israeli troops and settlers have together killed 633 and injured 4,931 Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israel’s hostilities are often erroneously framed in terms of security concerns or a religious conflict with Muslims. But they are in reality an imperialist policy that has not spared pacifist Christians either, to the point that some fear the very extinction of the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Among Israel’s over 2,000 attacks on the West Bank since January 2024, was the one on Taybeh, the last remaining village in the West Bank with a solely Christian population, that we reported last week. Not content with having nearly burned down the historic Church of St. George on July 7, 2025, the settlers returned the very next day to set another fire.
Following the second attack, parish priest Fr. Bashar Fawadleh said, “What we are witnessing is not just harassment―it is the systematic erasure of Christian presence in its cradle, in Jesus’s homeland.” He called on the international community “to encourage and verify that proper measures are taken to protect Taybeh and the surrounding villages.”
Canada must act now
DPCC finds Canada’s refusal to act to constrain Israel’s campaign of mass murder and criminal harassment unconscionable. We recently commended foreign minister Anita Anand for asserting that Israel’s use of food as a political tool could not be allowed. We also lauded Prime Minister Mark Carney for joining his British and French counterparts in promising “concrete measures” if Israel did not “cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid.” We urge Canada to follow through on this commitment.
Given that Israel has continued killing and dispossessing Palestinians with impunity, we reiterate our call for Canada to cease all arms exports to Israel by all routes, means and pretexts and to use all possible economic, diplomatic and political means to compel:
- The immediate and permanent end of all hostilities in Gaza
- The immediate release of all Israeli hostages and illegally detained Palestinians
- The lifting of Israel’s blockade on Gaza
- The free and safe entry into Gaza of unlimited quantities of humanitarian aid; the handover of humanitarian aid supply to UN agencies and other civil society actors; and the full resumption of aid and relief work
- The end of Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and of the expansionism and violence of its settlers
- The commencement of an internationally mediated process to establish a just and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples